Clotheslines are the epitome of urban shared public/private space. They are a big energy saver, they connect people together (literally), they allow you to know perhaps a bit too much about your neighbors. Plust they are a victim of aesthethic warfare. On one hand, you have the imagery of laundry soap commercials, of a mother hanging clothes out to dry in the sunshine for the "spring fresh feeling". On the other hand, you have the fabric softener industry, the manufacturers of dryers, and the condo associations that keep clotheslines out of sightlines.

So much depends on these bits of rope and wood!

[Click on the photo for the NYT article on clotheslines.]

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One of Jane Jacobs' most profound critiques of Modernism was simply that the scale was too large. And this is the one main lessons still hasn't been learned. Many many developments still are way too large.

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Art of the everyday is my favorite kind of art.

This reminds me of Improv Everywhere, flashmobs, performance art, that awesome movie at the Walker a while back of a dude pushing a giant ice block around Mexico City...

Two reactions.1. The answer to your replacement for the human body question depends on the body.

Maybe they used the wrong models to demo the Personal Mobility Device. Think of the rider as someone with disabilities who would normally be in a wheelchair. Now they can get on an elevator, maneuver through a book store aisle or work at counter height in a kitchen.

(We designed our kitchen to be ADA-compliant and it's not that great for the able-bodied because the spaces have to be farther apart.)

2. The flashlight museum reminded me of research I did long ago on the origin of the flash light. It failed several times before catching on as a flashlight when the battery company bought the design. An earlier attempt marketed it as a lighted floral table-top decoration for hotel dining rooms.